22 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



tenth of the weight of the animal. Colin states that 

 84 pounds is secreted by the horse and 112 pounds 

 by the cow in a single day. As a matter of fact, 

 the nature of the food greatly influences the flow, 

 although the control rests with the nervous system. 

 The ferment of the saliva is inactive in young 

 animals. It bears a close relationship to the de- 

 velopment of the teeth. Starchy food, therefore, is 

 not desirable for newly born farm animals nor for 

 the human young. While bread, potatoes and other 

 soft food of a starchy nature are frequently, if not 

 commonly, given to children, it can be only to their 

 hurt, for the reason the teeth slowly develop, thus 

 failing to provide the ferment to prepare the 

 starches for digestion, although moisture is 

 naturally secreted by the glands. 



From Mouth to Stomach. The food, after being 

 ground and mixed with the saliva, is forwarded to 

 the stomach. Horses, hogs and humans have a 

 single stomach compartment, while cows, sheep and 

 goats have a different arrangement, embodying four 

 divisions. With the former the stomach is com- 

 paratively simple. It is a single sac not capable of 

 holding a large quantity at one time. On the other 

 hand, in the ruminants, the family to which cattle and 

 sheep belong, the stomach is large, and capable of con- 

 siderable extension. The capacity of the stomach of the 

 average horse runs from three to four gallons, and 

 of the cow to as much as 50 gallons or more. 



The Compartments of the Cow's Stomach are 

 known as the rumen, or paunch, the reticulum, the 



